ARE YOU REALLY A CHRISTIAN?

The Kim Davis matter has caused a fault line in the American Church.  Huge numbers of individuals and organizations who purport to be Christian have taken the position that she should have resigned.  Many of the best minds in the Christian world disagree.  Dr. John McArthur recently declared from his pulpit, "We will not bow" to homosexual bullying.  Dr. Franklin Graham has supported Davis in the strongest terms.  Dr. John Piper released a statement supporting her as did Dr. Robbie George Professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton.  Her lawyers are led by former Liberty University Law School Dean Mat Staver. And yet, scores of alleged Christians refuse to see the import of this case.

There is a reason for this.  A lot of these people can't understand Kim Davis's position because they are not really Christians. There is no kinder way to say that.  Recently, Glen Beck, a Mormon, aired a searching dialogue in which he suggested that people who say the right words and lay claim to their fire insurance policy salvation may be deluded, especially when they can look the other way when evil is literally before their eyes.

The Apostle Paul was a lawyer.  Had he not converted to Christianity he was on the fast track to sit on the Jewish Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin. He wrote a third of the New Testament.  Paul described salvation this way in Roman 10:9: "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

The word translated "confess" is the Greek word "homolegeo."  It is a legal term.  It means to enter into a contract or a covenant.  The word translated "Lord" is the Greek word "kurios."  It is a military or slave term.  It means literally a despot or absolute master.  It could be used for a military commander or a slave owner.  The word translated "heart" is something of a transliteration.  In the Greek culture of the time, the intellect was thought to be seated in the heart while the emotions were seated in the gut.  So, if we read this verse as it would have been understood in the Greek you come up with, "If you publicly enter into a contact or covenant agreeing that Jesus Christ is the absolute master of your life and are intellectually convinced that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved."   

Throughout the centuries that has been a costly agreement for those who actually enter into it.  Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified by the government of their time.  Thousands of Christians died rather than bow down and sacrifice a spoon of incense declaring that Caeser was their supreme civic lord.  They understood that the agreement that they had entered into with the one true Lord would not allow them to bow the knee to any other.

Bowing has become easy in the 21st Century.  We bow to the Lord of death when we say we don't agree with abortion but won't do anything to stop it.  We bow to the Lord of perversion when we succumb to so called gay rights and gay marriage in order to keep our jobs and positions.  We bow to the Lord of power when we see the offices of government misused and justice perverted and do nothing to stop it.

Kim Davis understood this.  Kim Davis would not bow.  Kim Davis's life shows the fruits of a true salvation covenant with her Lord and Master.  Does yours?    

A Chilling Moment

For days now, a sermon has been building in me, the outline shaping itself in my thoughts. The facts of today's situation are so clear. We are clearly in the days of apostasy spoken of in the Book of Jude. A false Christianity which will not stand fast in the times of trouble is now deceiving many, dividing families, friends and workers. Indeed, it is dividing our nation. This was spoken of long ago:

19 These are the people who ·divide you [cause divisions], people ·whose thoughts are only of this world [who are worldly; or who live by natural instincts/desires], who do not have the Spirit [C living within them and guiding them]. (Jude v. 19 EXB)

The issue at the forefront of this division and apostasy (literally falling away) is the demand for not just tolerance but indeed acceptance and celebration of the acts and lifestyle of homosexuals. While the meaning of the certain passages of the Book of Jude were murky in past generations they are crystal clear now in light of current events:

7"Also remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah [C destroyed by God for their evil; Gen. 19; 2 Pet. 2:6] and the other towns around them. In the same way they were full of sexual sin and people who ·desired sexual relations that God does not allow [pursued sexual perversion; L departed after different flesh]. They suffer the punishment of eternal fire, as an ·example [warning] for all to see.

8 It is the same with these people [C the false teachers; v. 4]. They are guided by dreams ·and make themselves filthy with sin [and live immoral lives/pollute their bodies; or to defile the flesh]. They ·reject [despise] ·God’s authority [L authority] and ·speak against [insult; slander; blaspheme] ·the angels [celestial beings; L glorious ones; 2 Pet. 2:10–11]. 9 "(Jude v. 7,8 EXB)

Like Jude the brother of Jesus whose icon is a club, I wanted to declare the true salvation that only comes when Jesus Christ is Lord of ALL of your life including the workplace and public square. I wanted to warn of the watered down false salvation that, like a vaccine, inoculates the recipient from the true strain. I wanted to write about the costly grace spoken of by Bonhoeffer which led him to the gallows but saves the soul and warn of the cheap grace he described which leads to destruction of both the body and the soul. But, when I came to write from the scriptures this morning, I had a chilling moment. For the first time in my life I was restrained. When I went to the scriptures for guidance this verse came to me:

20 My people, go into your ·rooms [chambers; inner rooms] and shut your doors behind you. Hide in your rooms for a short time until God’s anger ·is finished [has passed by]. 21 [L For look/T behold] The Lord ·will leave [is coming out of] his place to punish the ·people [inhabitants] of the world for their sins. The earth will ·show [reveal; disclose] ·the blood of the people who have been killed [L its blood]; it will not cover ·the dead [its slain] any longer.(Isa 26:20 EXB)

Judgement is coming. Are you ready?